The Northern Virginia Jewish Community In Images Of America
The Images of America series offers photographic histories of many American communities, including Jewish communities. I have been fortunate to read and review many books in this series about places and communities throughout the United States. This book, "The Jewish Community of Northern Virginia" (2022) is unusual in that it is the first book-length study of this Jewish community, primarily located in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. The book has received substantial attention in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including reviews in the "Washington Post", the "Washington Jewish Week" and other sources. The authors, Susan and Shawn Dilles have been residents of Northern Virginia and participants in its Jewish community for more than 40 years. They are retired and did much of the research for this book during the two years of the pandemic. Rabbi Daniel Novick, a fifth generation native Virginian, wrote a short Foreword to the book and was among many who contributed photographs and information.
Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland are homes to large, active Jewish communities which receive substantial attention. The Virginia community was almost an afterthought until, in 2018, its Jewish population of about 120,000 surpassed that of both. The history of the community deserves to be remembered. As the authors write: "We did not intend to write an academic or sociological study, nor a comprehensive history. We affectionately think of this book as a community scrapbook that reflects how Jews in Northern Virginia worked, prayed, organized congregations, and built a multifaceted community during the last 160 years." As the authors conclude in their Introduction: "No longer under the radar, the Northern Virginia Jewish community today provides a wide range of cultural, educational, and religious opportunities for expression. We are happy to be witnesses to this tremendous growth".
The book begins with a story of how a "community of Jews" formed a "Jewish community" with the arrival of Jewish immigrants in the 1850s into Alexandria. The book offers photographs of some of the early pioneers and describes their activities accompanied by many rare photographs of storefronts and other local scenes of the day. Successive chapters continue the story by discussing early Jewish congregational life in the communities of Herndon, Fredericksburg, Winchester, and Arlington. The account emphasizes how enterprising many of the members of the community were both in business and political activities and in organizing communal Jewish life. As the community developed, Jews attained a larger presence in Falls Church and Fairfax. Jewish activities were not limited to synagogues and worship, but included the construction of a Jewish Center, Jewish Day Schools, summer camps and charitable and social organizations as well. Until recently, most Jewish activity in Northern Virginia has been Conservative, Reform, or Reconstructionist. In their final chapter, the authors show the recent return of Orthodox Judaism to Northern Virginia with the presence of Chabad. A brief but welcome bibliography concludes the volume.
I have lived in the Washington, D.C. area for many years. While not observant, I have participated in organized Jewish activities in both Montgomery County and Washington, D.C. Until recently, I had not had any experience with the Northern Virginia Jewish community. During the last year or so, I have had the opportunity to attend some services and community programs at Temple Rodef Shalom, a large, beautiful Reform congregation located in Falls Church and founded in 1962. Temple Rodef Shalom is in the middle of a series of activities celebrating its 60th anniversary, and I have been fortunate to attend some of them. It is a vibrant, welcoming community. I learned more about it from the many photos and texts in this book showing its history.
I was moved by the history shown in this book. I enjoyed the overview of the Northern Virginia Jewish community together with the depiction of the temple that I have come to know. This book is a worthy addition to the Images of America series which celebrates the breadth and diversity of American life and communities.
